Somanje Albert Novas, Mohan Geetha, Saito Osamu
United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability, 5-53-70 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Ministry of Agriculture, Lusumpuko House, Choma, Zambia.
Agric Food Secur. 2021;10(1):53. doi: 10.1186/s40066-021-00325-6. Epub 2021 Nov 24.
In this study, we present the current situation and the role of agricultural extension services for farmers and indicates the potential solutions for the optimum effectiveness of these services. Thus, we investigate the vital determinants influencing the farmers' attitudes toward using agricultural extension services in Ghana and Zambia.
In this study, we used a mixed-method research analysis of data from a household survey of 240 farmers and 8 key informant interviews in the Upper West Region of Ghana and the Southern Province of Zambia.
The significant factors affecting the association of agricultural extension officers with farmers are regular meetings, demand for services and productivity, and the adoption rate of technology. Notably, approaches based on information communication technology indicators include owning cell phones; further, having radio access significantly affects agricultural practices. However, the role of gender, access to credit, and owning a television would influence food safety and nutrition.
Understanding the critical determinants will provide potential solutions to national agricultural research institutes, private research entities, and policymakers to scale-up the effectiveness of agricultural extension services, particularly in Ghana and Zambia.
在本研究中，我们介绍了农业推广服务对农民的现状及作用，并指出了实现这些服务最佳效果的潜在解决方案。因此，我们调查了影响加纳和赞比亚农民对使用农业推广服务态度的重要决定因素。
在本研究中，我们对加纳上西部地区和赞比亚南部省份的240名农民进行了家庭调查，并对8名关键信息提供者进行了访谈，采用混合方法对数据进行分析。
影响农业推广人员与农民联系的重要因素包括定期会议、服务需求和生产力以及技术采用率。值得注意的是，基于信息通信技术指标的方法包括拥有手机；此外，收听广播对农业实践有显著影响。然而，性别、获得信贷的机会和拥有电视机的作用会影响食品安全和营养。
了解这些关键决定因素将为国家农业研究机构、私营研究实体和政策制定者提供潜在解决方案，以扩大农业推广服务的有效性，特别是在加纳和赞比亚。
